King's  Logo

COURSE NUMBER: PHIL 399
COURSE TITLE: Special Topics in Philosophy - 2004/05 Fall - Hegel and Kierkegaard: System, Philosophy, and God
NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: Dr Jeffrey Dudiak
CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the philosophy faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

Prerequisites: PHIL 230

2004/05 Fall

Hegel and Kierkegaard stand opposed as 19th Century figures of, respectively, system and anti-system, an all-encompassing, wholly rational philosophy and an irrational, personal faith, a God of immanence and a God of wholly transcendent.  In this course we will undertake a study of these two important figures (important to both philosophy and theology) by situating ourselves between them in an attempt to think more carefully for our own time the relationships between knowledge, faith, and God.
TEXTS:
  • Hegel, G.W.F., Introduction to The Philosophy of History, Indianapolis & Cambridge: Hackett Publishing, 1988.
  • Westphal, Merold, History and Truth in Hegel’s Phenomenology, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1998.
  • Kierkegaard, Soren, Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, v. 1, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:
Weekly questions 20%
Midterm 20%
Course participation 10%
Term paper 30%
Final oral exam 20%
100%
COURSE OBJECTIVES: In this course we will undertake an extended reflection on the meaning of rational systematising in relation to philosophy and God, across a careful reading of two major philosophical texts, Hegel’s The Philosophy of History and Kierkegaard’s Concluding Unscientific Postscript.  Our goals will be to:
  1. develop strategies for effectively reading philosophical texts
  2. learn and critically engage the basic ideas regarding “system, philosophy, and God” in Hegel and Kierkegaard as communicated in these texts
  3. deepen our philosophical vocabulary in the
  4. meaningfully reflect upon the meaning of truth, and its significance for our lives and faith
COURSE OUTLINE:
  • Sept. 7   Introduction to the course
  • Sept. 14 Hegel: 1-18
  • Sept. 21 Hegel: 19-56
  • Sept. 28 Hegel: 57-82, Westphal: 121-152
  • Oct. 5    Hegel: 83-98, Westphal: 153-186
  • Oct. 12  Westphal: 187-229
  • Oct. 19  Mid-term examination
  • Oct. 26  Kierkegaard: 127-159
  • Nov. 2   Kierkegaard: 159-188
  • Nov. 9   Kierkegaard: 189-222
  • Nov. 16 Kierkegaard: 222-251
  • Nov. 23 Kierkegaard: 587-616 


Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.

© The King's University
Maintained By Institutional Research